M People: "Fresco" (BMG) M People have lasted very well, hanging on way beyond the normal lifespan of dancepop chart acts. Perhaps it's their slightly stuffy air of respectability, or maybe it's the comforting, dark-chocolate voice of Heather Small, but M People have become a staple diet at dinner parties, while the serious club set turns its nose up at the rather bland fare on offer. Even when the band won the Mercury Music Prize for the album Elegant Slumming, it was branded a triumph of design over depth. So, pass the polenta and get cozy with M People's third album, a smooth, sultry mix of soul, funk and soft house, and a classic slice of MOD (middle of the dancefloor). Car advertisers will listen attentively for a song which can match the selling power of Search For The Hero, and they may just find it in the uptempo Fantasy Island - you can just picture that new '98 model zooming down a tropical highway while tanned natives in grass skirts look on approvingly. Though the single Just For You is probably more suited to a Milk Tray ad, with such daredevil lines as "I would climb the highest mountain just for you". There's no dearth of atmosphere in Fresco, and songs such as Smile and Angel Street conjure up elegant images of sun-soaked balconies and winding Mediterranean avenues. There's no shortage of styles either; everything from classic house to classic disco to classic r & b is crammed into M People's handbag. The strengths and shortcomings of Fresco can best be summed up by its cover of Roxy Music's Avalon: it poses as a radical drum'n'bass reworking, but it's really just a superficial glide through an already insipid tune.